PHILIP VENABLES: THE GENDER AGENDA

Don't conform

A concert piece like no other, The Gender Agenda will turn Queen Elizabeth Hall into a gameshow and the audience into contestants. Complete with challenges and commercials, The Gender Agenda has all the features of a gameshow, but turned on its head - think The Generation Game meets Southpark. Hosted by the brilliantly charismatic David Hoyle, audiences can choose to play the game onstage in this irreverent and funny exploration of gender (in)equality. The first part of the evening features cabaret-style performances in the foyer. Capturing the spirit of change that accompanied the London Sinfonietta’s first ever concert in 1968, this event marks the ensemble’s return to Queen Elizabeth Hall in its re-opening festival. Venables is an RPS-award-winning and Olivier-nominated composer. His Illusions (2017) forms the later part of the evening, written as an address to the new government and starring the evening's host, performance artist David Hoyle.

CONNECT is a European-wide project to create and perform new compositions which involve the public in their realisation. Philip Venables' The Gender Agenda will also be performed around Europe by the project's other ensembles: Asko|Schönberg in Amsterdam, Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt and Remix Ensemble Casa da Música in Porto.